Blessed by the Buddha

 Taipei has a major Buddhist temple that serves as a big tourist attraction.  It's a little weird going there, checking it out, wandering around, while knowing the religious significance and trying to be respectful.

Inside the main gate, the plaza is encompassed on all sides by small shrines with different depictions of Buddha.  This is the main one.

The plaza has many wonderful features.  People leave weird foodstuffs, as well as more appropriate flowers, as offerings.   There's also a counter where people buy small trinkets to have blessed in the incense pot.  I have mine.

Traveling around Taiwan, there are many small shrines/temples scattered throughout the cities and towns.  Seemed odd to me until I realized these small shrines are similar to the scattered Mormon wards or occasional smaller protestant churches.